An Indonesian Christian governor on trial for blasphemy said on 4 April that he has been the target of racist and religious attacks since his election to public office in 2005.
Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (known as ‘Ahok’), the governor of Jakarta, also reiterated to the court his belief that the Qur’anic verse at the centre of his trial does not tell Muslims they cannot vote for a Christian. (The verse instructs Muslims to ‘not take the Jews and the Christians as allies’.)
Speaking on the final day of witness testimony, he also said that hard-line cleric Rizieq Shihab, who on account of this argument had accused him of ‘insulting Islam’, was ‘a liar’.
A senior figure in Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organisation, said the verse was being deliberately misinterpreted by Mr Shihab and the case ‘has all been a manipulative thing going on for the purpose of the election’.
Ahok was charged with blasphemy after accusing his political opponents of using Qur’anic verses to stop Muslims from voting for him.
